Actor John Shrapnel has died this week at the age of 77.
He was famous for his work as a Shakespearean actor and for his roles in Notting Hill and Waking The Dead.
John, who enjoyed a 50-year career on both the stage and screen, was suffering from cancer when he died.
A respected theatre actor, he starred as both Brutus and the title role in different productions of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and also trod the boards in Macbeth, Hedda Gabler, King Lear and Twelfth Night.
John's last TV appearance came in 2017 in Mike Bartlett’s King Charles III, which was his friend Tim Pigott-Smith's last TV appearance too.
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His major film debut was in Franklin J Schaffner’s Nicholas and Alexandra.
John also starred in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Gladiator and 101 Dalmatians.
The National Theatre paid tribute to him on Twitter, posting: "We're very sad to hear that the wonderful actor John Shrapnel has died.
"He performed in many productions at the National Theatre, including Phèdre – our first @NTLive production."
Actor Richard E. Grant wrote: "Sad to learn that John Shrapnel has died.
"I played his patient in HOW TO GET AHEAD IN ADVERTISING (1989) Generous, kind, funny and warm hearted.
"Privileged to have known and worked with him."
John was born in Birmingham in 1942 and was educated at the City of London School in the capital.
He married Francesca Bartley, a landscape designer, in 1975.
They shared three sons, Joe, Lex and Thomas.
One of his ancestors was Lt Gen Henry Shrapnel, who invented the exploding cannonball and gave his name to the shards of metal produced in the impact.
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